Tired of reality shows about obese people trying to lose weight? No? Good, because there's another one on the way. Cable channel A&E debuts "Heavy" on Jan. 17. The show follows 22 morbidly obese men and women who desperately want to shed pounds. They're on a six-month program of serious diet and exercise, interspersed with lots of tears. The hook? These weight-challenged folks aren't competing with their peers, and there's no monetary prize attached. The series kicks off with Tom and Jodi (two people are featured per episode)

The cast of "Jersey Shore" schooled Barbara Walters on the intricacies of "smushing" last month, pretty much confirming once and for all the power of reality TV. That the party-loving crew made her "10 Most Fascinating People of 2010" special only reinforces the matter. Reality proved its stamina last season even as some of its fictional counterparts stumbled. While returning series such as "Glee" and "Modern Family" continued to be hits with viewers, life for most new scripted shows proved brutish and short-lived.

Losers and gainers were almost split evenly among San Fernando Valley area stocks in the third quarter, reflecting the inconsistent behavior of stocks in general. Of 68 Valley stocks tracked for the Times by MPACT Securities of Austin, Tex., 34 dropped in price in the three months ended Sept. 30, with 33 stocks up and one unchanged in price. The stocks include publicly held companies with headquarters from Burbank to Camarillo. An index of Valley area stocks compiled by MPACT rose 3.

Among the many promises made in its just-approved takeover of NBC Universal, Comcast Corp. pledged to sustain and even add hundreds of hours to the news and public affairs programming at the 10 TV stations NBC owns around the country. As a baby step in the right direction, NBC should start by putting in the garbage-disposal all those no-calorie "news" segments about, for example, "The Biggest Loser," "Law & Order," "America's Got Talent" and movies from Universal Pictures. Convert those time slots, instead, to some meat and potatoes coverage about what's happening in our neighborhoods, our schools, our city halls.

As the broadcasters rush to unveil their fall lineups to advertisers next week in New York, no network has more riding on the outcome than NBC. The brand that dominated TV for 20 years starting in the mid-1980s with smash hits such as "The Cosby Show," then "Friends" and "Seinfeld" has spent the last six years stuck in last place as its managers pursued what they believed was a forward-looking strategy aimed at cutting costs. Now the network has a new owner — cable giant Comcast — and a much-admired new programmer — Bob Greenblatt, formerly of Showtime — who are bent on restoring the luster of a network that once set standards for both quality and ratings in prime time.

If you have more than 80 pounds to lose and no fear of puking on a treadmill on national TV, here's your chance: NBC's weight-loss show "The Biggest Loser" is launching a nationwide search for Season 15 contestants. Auditions begin May 4 in Los Angeles, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City and Charleston, S.C. On May 11, auditions will be held in Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Philadelphia and Phoenix. Casting in Los Angeles takes place 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Citadel Outlets at 100 Citadel Drive.

News that "The Biggest Loser" contestants Sam Poueu and Stephanie Anderson are in the process of getting a divorce only two months from the due date of their first child has many fans asking one big question: Why? If a People source close to the situation is to be believed, the answer is not a good one. With the baby's birth approaching, Anderson, 33, felt they "weren't connecting" and sought couples counseling, the source told the mag. And in one of the sessions, Poueu, 28, allegedly decided to come clean.

The NFL is built on competitive balance and the notion that, unlike baseball, any team from any sized market has a reasonable chance of winning the Super Bowl. Not many people predicted the New Orleans Saints, among the most downtrodden organizations in sports, would ever hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Now, the Saints are defending champions. But changes at the top are what the NFL is all about — with every season, churn, churn, churn … In each of the past 14 seasons, at least five teams have made the playoffs after missing them the season before.